![]() ![]() ![]() But this nostalgia seems to have served a purpose for technological propaganda, a kind of Icarian or Promethean mythos of early engineering genius that foretold the present day's technical wonders. They all evoked a nostalgia for the Victorian world, with its class distinctions and colonial wealth. I slowly came to realize that several of these Cold War era films translated Verne's novels into their own cultural codes by shifting their emphases and changing their characters. Enthralled by how much was the same, and so visually rich, I had never noticed how much was radically different. Often praised at its release as a faithful homage to the novel, Disney's Leagues surprised me when I began to compare it to the book. Recently, while writing about Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I returned to the Disney film version that had so enchanted me as a boy. Those marvelous technicolor and Cinemascope movies of Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Five Weeks in a Balloon, From the Earth to the Moon, Master of the World, and others introduced a large segment of the American population to Verne's novels and to the genre of science fiction. It has been nearly a half-century since this last happened, during the 1950s and 60s when a spate of American film adaptations of his novels made Verne a household word, a name equated with the adventure of science and its uncanny progress over the last century. Jules Verne's Paris au XXe Siècle, which made news in the past year, has once again raised aloft the bearded profile of its author as an icon of scientific prophecy. Published 2011 by Titan Books ISBN: 9780857683427ĩ/10 Anderson is a skilled storyteller and this is gripping stuff.Between Jules Verne and Walt Disney: Brains, Brawn, and Masculine Desire in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Fans of Verne will love the character references to his other works and non-initiates will enjoy a wonderfully entertaining adventure yarn. This is a story and premise that I am sure the French master of adventure and suspense would approve of. This reads at times like an entertaining and poignant fictional biography much like John Pearson did with Biggles years ago.Īnderson is a skilled storyteller and this is gripping stuff – it is quite clear why he is such a prolific and successful author and proves he is more than equal to the task of brining Verne’s popular creation to life for a modern twenty first century audience. We learn more about the man and what made him. That is very apt but the book is not just about flights of fancy. There is an excellent quote by Verne at the beginning of the book which neatly sums it all up: ‘What one man can imagine, another can achieve.’ The two friends are on two very different paths but both achieve great highs and lows through the course of their lives. The story has Verne’s quiet life juxtaposed with Nemo’s life of adventure. ![]() What I really enjoyed was the ingenious idea of Verne and Nemo existing as true-life friends with the cautious Verne staying in France but living vicariously through his friend via his works of fiction. With the focus on the three childhood friends: Andre, Jules and Caroline it can also be read as a ‘rites-of-passage’ novel with a heart wrenching romance thrown in. Against all the odds he survives, becoming the captain of the futuristic state of the art vessel known as the Nautilus.Īnderson displays great imagination with a story that gives readers convincing characters with thrilling heart – pounding action. Far from dead the intrepid Nemo discovers the lost city of Timbuktu, the hidden land at the centre of the earth, and is marooned on the uncharted mysterious island.ĭuring his adventures he will face bloodthirsty pirates, prehistoric monsters, Arab slavers, and serves in the British cavalry against the Russians in the charge of the Light Brigade. The Victorians world was an exotic place to be explored and Nemo’s story takes the reader right to the heart of it.Īnderson’s Nemo is orphaned at an early age and takes to the seas travelling across the continents. The nineteenth century is an age of adventure, invention and wonder. ![]() Anderson provides us with an exhilarating tale that spans a lifetime from childhood dreams and fantasies with friends Jules Verne (a masterstroke by Anderson) and Caroline Aronnax, to life on the high seas and adulthood. This hugely ambitious project takes the reader behind Jules Verne’s enigmatic, mysterious loner Captain Nemo (called Andre Nemo here). ![]()
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